Nana Patekar injured, prepares for direction

If you've seen the promos of Nana Patekar dancing with Mallika Sherawat in Welcome you'd know Nana at 56 remains irrepressible. And with a severe foot injury on the sets of his new comedy Horn OK Please he is now out of circulation for at least two months. "It happens. It was quite a freak accident. I was dancing, twisted my ankle when my feet hit a stone. I heard something crack. I had a torn ligament. I had to go through an operation. It's okay. If you step into the kitchen you’re bound to be burnt once in a while. And now I'm home-bound in Pune and enjoying every bit of the time that God has given me. I cook, read. I'm going through the collected works of one of my favourite authors Munshi Premchand. I've finished ‘Godaan’ and looking forward to the others. Badaa mazaa aa raha hai. In a couple of weeks I'll be able to hobble around. It will take some time for me to get back on my feet. Until then I'm doing everything I always wanted to, including exercising. And never mind if I've to exercise sitting down."
Nana is also taking this unscheduled holiday as an opportunity to finish his script for the love story that he wants to direct early next year. "It's a sweet positive love story about an older man and a younger woman. I want either Rani Mukherjee or Vidya Balan for the film. They've a strength and innocence in their face. There're so many talented new actors, all so confident and individualistic."

The one thing that Nana won't do during this period of recovery is meet guests. "Nothing doing! It breaks the meditative rhythm that I've established for myself. Visitors will come start a topic that has no bearing to the way I'm leading my life right now. I even forbade my sister from visiting. She wanted to come and look after me. Kahe ka? One has to finally look after oneself."

Nana has two films on the floors, one of which Shagird with director Tigmanshu Dhulia is complete. The other Horn Ok Please needs a bit more work. "It would've been completed in December but for this injury," sighs Nana. "Chalta hai. You mark my words. The film's director Rakesh Sarang will be among the five most talked-about directors of 2008."

Nana's next release is Anees Bazmi's Welcome, a film that the actor apparently didn't enjoy shooting because of some differences with Akshay Kumar. "No not at all!" Nana protests. "I had great fun doing this film. Woh thoda-bahut jhamela to hota hai. It's part of every team effort. I don't deny there was some problem. But we sorted it out." As for dancing with Mallika, Nana gets uncharacteristically shy. "Arrey nahin! I just do what the director asks me to. But I do enjoy dancing, I can't deny that. Never mind I can't do much of that right now."